Managing flood debris and solid waste

When summer storms drop heavy rain in a short period of time, the resulting flash flooding leaves behind a huge mess that must be cleaned up and disposed of before a community can recover and move forward. In 2016, these all-too-familiar events happened to the city of Sturgeon Lake and Waseca County. Scott Helfman and Lloyd’s Construction Services played instrumental roles in helping clean up and dispose of more than 330 tons of flood debris and solid waste.

Scott Helfman is Sturgeon Lake’s Public Works Director. Scott assisted the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to establish and manage a temporary solid waste transfer station to collect and dispose of about 36 tons of debris, including more than 150 appliances. According to Heidi Kroening of the MPCA’s Solid Waste section, “Mr. Helfman got us all of the volunteers, made sure we had bathroom facilities, food and water. He was there to open up the transfer station, to close it down each night and checked on it after hours throughout the three weeks of cleanup work in Sturgeon Lake. He did all this because he cared about the people that were impacted, and about his community.”

Lloyd’s Construction Services (Savage), did a remarkable job managing roll-off boxes during the Waseca County flood debris cleanup. The company’s entire crew worked countless hours assisting citizens, volunteers, local government and the MPCA with loading, moving, and managing flood debris. The MPCA appreciated the staff going out of their way to lend a hand wherever they could. Their involvement relieved a lot of stress on everyone affected by the floods.

For going above and beyond to help Sturgeon Lake and Waseca County residents clean up their communities after devastating flooding, the MPCA thanks Scott Helfman and Lloyd’s Construction Services for managing flood debris and solid waste.